Brute force attacks on ATM machines are a common form of robbery by thieves intending to steal the cash contained within an ATM. Often, and in the case of stand-alone ATM machines of the type found in convenience stores for example, the ATM machines are generally not secured in place and may simply be picked up by thieves and taken away. Following this, and without time constraints, the thieves use various tools to cut open the machine to obtain the cash.
In the case of ATM machines which are typically located within the structural walls of banks or supermarkets, for example, it is becoming increasingly common for thieves to use heavy duty construction vehicles to rip the ATM from the wall of the building. In some cases, it has been known to use explosives to achieve the same result. Aside from the financial implications resulting from the loss of the cash contained within the ATM, the costs for repairing the structural damage caused to the building, which by this time is unsafe for public access, are highly significant.
Typically, refillable cassettes are used to store banknotes in ATMs. The cassettes, which contain various denominations of banknotes are installed in carriage located within the ATM in a manner which allows individual banknotes to be accessed by a user of the ATM. Standard practice for replenishing the ATM with banknotes generally involves removing the empty cassettes and replacing them with a new set of pre-filled cassettes.
Various methods of deterring theft already exist and include cash spoiling systems which activate in response to an appropriate signal indicative of an attempted theft. Known spoiling systems include the release of an indelible dye or ink onto the banknotes within the cassette when a signal is received from a sensor indicating that the ATM is being tampered with. Such inks or dyes stain the banknotes with the intention of rendering them unusable and hence worthless.
Given the increased automated nature of today's service providers however, many types of machines exist which accept notes for payment. The acceptance of notes is based purely on the structural integrity of the notes received by the machine and only notes whose physical integrity has been compromised will be rejected. Consequently, stained notes are generally accepted in such machines and are only discovered after the machine is emptied or when the spoiled notes are presented to the bank.
In the case of the gaming industry, for example, bets can be made through depositing notes in automated machines. It is however, possible to cancel a transaction prior to a bet taking place, at which point a token or ticket is printed detailing the amount owed. The ticket is then exchanged over the counter for cash. This essentially provides a thief with an undiscoverable method of exchanging the stained notes for legal tender.
Another known method of spoiling banknotes involves the use of an adhesive as the spoiling agent. The adhesive is deposited over the banknotes which acts to bond them together, and in some cases then curing, to form what is essentially a solid block of banknotes. In such systems however, the adhesive is simply sprayed into the cassette over the notes in a non-uniform chaotic manner in an attempt to ensure that all of the notes are bonded together to render them useless.
The problem associated with known adhesive systems is that individual notes cannot be subsequently partly separated to be properly authenticated.
Since the adhesive is deposited over the banknotes in an unpredictable and disorderly manner, it is not possible to guarantee that all of the notes are rendered unusable as it is possible that some of the notes may still be individually peeled away from one another. Alternatively and additionally, if notes are bonded together to form a solid block, they are no longer individually identifiable to the responsible authority (e.g. The Bank of England in the United Kingdom).
The ability to be able to identify the banknotes as authentic is essential if the responsible authority is to replace each spoiled note with new legal tender. Not being able to do so means that those notes are not replaced and any resulting financial loss must be incurred by the aggrieved party.
GB2476061B describes a cassette for storing banknotes which includes a spoiling system. This cassette has a means for detecting interference, which if detected, activates the spoiling system dispensing a degrading agent onto the interior of the inner cassette.
GB2340879B describes a cassette for storing banknotes which includes a cash spoiling system. In this system, a spoiling/bonding solution is sprayed over the banknotes following activation of the system. The solution is contained within a receptacle and expels the adhesive in response to a warning signal received from a beacon. The solution is sprayed from a delivery tube attached to a holding plate of the cassette. There is no disclosure of the mechanism by which the solution is dispersed.
Tests have shown that adhesive sprayed from THE side of the holding plate is not effective over the entire length of the block of notes as the holding plate, by its very purpose, rests against the top of the block of notes and, as such, any gap between the plate and the notes is minimal. Consequently, the solution will be expelled primarily at points where gaps are present or are the most prevalent as so the solution would only effectively be dispersed over those areas where the notes are smaller (five pound notes rather than twenty pound notes) where no notes are present if the cassette is not completely filled. The remainder of the notes will remain unspoilt.
Moreover, the system disclosed in GB2340879 (all be it in very limited detail) would require the interior of the cassette to be disassembled and adapted to connect and fit the delivery tube to the holding plate. This makes retrofitting of the apparatus difficult.
In the prior art described, the unpredictable depositing of the degrading agent renders it not possible for the spoiling system to work in such a way as to ensure that each banknote is completely unusable and still identifiable as authentic.
This and other disadvantages are overcome, or at least alleviated, with the spoiling system in accordance with the present invention.